Claire and Ben talk about their thoughts having read chapter 1 of The Irresistible Revolution, When Christianity Was Still Safe. Click on the play button below to listen.
Please leave your thoughts in the comments below and we’ll continue the discussion here!
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
May 18, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Jane A
I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet but my initial comment on your discussion is keep it up! It’s important to open up the issues and keep them boiling.
My more reflective comment on the ‘nature of the poor’ (first 5 mins – not had time for more yet) which is discussed in the early stage of your chat is that British society is not yet aware of its poverty of spirit. As you say, Ben, the distractions still fill our brains, whether poor or not. These distractions prevent us from thinking and pondering (understanding with a moral perspective) on our condition.
You are right that this compares unfavourably with the reality of poverty in Calcutta (and perhaps even Philadelphia). Certainly in Calcutta (or in Myanmar for example) they are aware of their abject poverty because the reality of their situation slaps them in the face every day. That does not happen so much in Britain and Claire is right – the system is manipulated by the cunning and the strong.
A question for me is ‘do we want abject povery so that we face reality?’ or can the ‘prophetic church’, in its lament, do the job Jeremiah did? A most uncomfortable thought that we are perhaps moving towards those days.
Jane A
September 1, 2008 at 9:49 am
Iain
In the early nineties I was attempting to build relationships among the poor and disenfranchised of the east end of Newcastle. I felt at the time that there were huge questions surrounding identity and belonging. With the collossal workforces in shipbuilding and docks stripped to the minimum, and all the local pits gone, what did it mean to be a Geordie?
Commonly, the answer was found in paying for satellite TV in order to watch the ‘Toon’ (Newcastle United FC), and in consuming large quantities of Brown Ale.
So, the availability of these distractions certainly did dull their senses, denying and exploration of their own personal condition and identity. Furthermore, this prevented the kind of engagement that previous generations undertook to change the poverty of their circumstances.
Are we being lulled to sleep?
Listening to Claire and Ben and some of their wrestlings, angst and even guilt over the issue is actually encouraging. At least we feel a bit guilty, rather than feeling nothing.
Jane’s comment has got me thinking. Is making sure we are not numb our first step? Is the lament our first task? Jeremiah warned against nonchalance and denial and false trust, and declared an oncoming collapse. Is this a song for the western economies today?